Rep of Ireland v Ecuador:In the wider scheme of things there may not be a great deal at stake when the Republic of Ireland take on Ecuador at the Giants Stadium in New Jersey this evening (1am Irish-time) with most of the players involved set to return to the margins for at least the medium term when the summer is out and the squad's established stars feel sufficiently rested to return to action.
However, for Stephen Hunt and Kevin Kilbane, it was confirmed yesterday, there is the small matter of Damien Duff's place in the team to play for over the next few days.
Manager Steve Staunton said yesterday he is planning for the five competitive autumn games without the Newcastle United winger who underwent surgery on a broken bone in his left foot three weeks ago and now faces a long period recuperation.
"It'll be six months all right," remarked Staunton at the team's Rutgers University training camp. "Well, when they take the cast off, who knows, but we'll be allowing for the rest of the campaign because, by the time he gets back to full fitness, it'll almost certainly be over.
"If he does somehow get back before that then great, but it's not something that we'll be banking on."
The confirmation Duff's injury is so serious rounds off what has been a miserable year for the 28-year-old since he left Chelsea in order to play more football. It does, however, open the door to others, most obviously Hunt who made no secret of the fact last week he was travelling with this squad in the hope of establishing himself in Staunton's starting line-ups.
While Staunton would only confirm yesterday that goalkeeper Colin Doyle and midfielder Darren Potter would be in the side while Kilbane will captain it, the Reading player is almost certain to play this evening on the left-hand side of midfield.
Given his performances when used as a substitute in Croke Park back in March, the game looks like a major opportunity to press home his claim for a more extensive role in what remains of the European Championship qualifying campaign.
"He's always been an option for us," said Staunton. "He's come off the bench and done well for us and it's good that he's out here with us now."
Others in contention to make debuts include Alan Bennett, Alex Bruce and Andy Keogh while, with Kilbane likely to skipper the side from central midfield, the second of the wide midfield berths looks to be up for the grabs.
Cork City's Joe Gamble is the most naturally equipped to assume the role on the right which would enable Staunton to start Hunt on the left, but a reshuffle is possible with Anthony Stokes heading the list of the strikers available to Staunton who might be asked to start in midfield.
The one who filled the role in training yesterday was Joe Lapira, the 20-year-old American-born Notre Dame striker who came to the attention of the Irish management at least in part because his uncle, Michael Lynam, works for the FAI.
If the young student does feature tonight or on Saturday in Boston against Bolivia, he will become the first amateur to represent the Republic at this level since the Bohemians skipper Willie Brown, who passed away in 2004, earned the last of his three caps in 1964.
Whatever way Staunton decides to play his rather limited hand, it seems almost certain that he will hand at least seven players their first caps, another record at this level in recent times.
It is not the promising scenarios in terms of the spectacle that the game might be expected to produce tonight, but Kilbane insists the entire enterprise still has the potential to bear long-term benefits for Staunton and the team generally.
"We went away in 2000 with Mick," he said yesterday, "and in many respects it was the making of us as a squad. We managed to kick on together and I'm sure many of the lads here now will be looking to do the same thing."
The Ecuadorians, as it happens, may not be too far behind the Irish when it comes to unfamiliar faces as Luis Fernando Suarez has arrived in town with a rather unfamiliar group that includes just five of the squad that travelled to Germany for last year's World Cup and only one, Edison Mendez of PSV, who is based with a foreign club.
Augustin Delgado, Ivan Hurtado and Ulises de la Cruz are amongst the bigger names to be absent as the Colombian coach looks to weigh up his options ahead of next month's Copa America in Venezuela.
IRELAND(possible): Doyle (Birmingham City); Kelly (Birmingham City), Bruce (Ipswich Town), Bennett (Reading), O'Halloran (Aston Villa); Gamble (Cork City), Potter (Aston Villa), Kilbane (Wigan Athletic), Hunt (Reading); Keogh (Wolves), Doyle (Reading).
